Drainboard and splash back



Jan. 27, 1953 H. c. MORRIS DRAINBOARD' AND SPLASH BACK Filed Oct. 31, 1949 INVENTOR HUBERT c. MORRIS" ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAINBOARD AND SPLASH BACK Hubert 0. Morris, Portland, Oreg.

Application October 31, 1949, Serial No. 124,645

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates in general to drain boards, and, more particularly, to drain boards used in kitchens and the like where the rear longitudinal edge of the drain board is set-against a wall surface.

One object of my invention is to provide a composite drain board of improved construction and design which will not warp and which will be capable of rendering long and satisfactory service under all customary conditions and usage to which kitchen drain boards in general are subjected.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide an improved drain board which can be easily set in place and permanently installed with a minimum of expenditure of time andlabor.

A related object is to provide a pro-fabricated and pro-formed drain board strip which can conveniently and readily'be cut to a desired size to fit the required location by'anyone possessed of ordinary ability incarpentry.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved drain board consisting of a composite pre-fabricated, pre-formedand laminated strip which will'be practical to fabricate as well as to install, which zcanbe produced at moderate cost to meet a popular demand, and which will offer several advantages over various types of drain boards of heretofore customary construction.

These objects and other incidental advantages I achieve by constructing my improved drainboard from composite laminated material having special water-proof surfacing, the composite material being pre-formedin such manner so as to be specially suitable fora drain board and capable of being sawed to the. desired size, .and furthermore, formed, reinforced -:;and set up in the manner hereinafter briefly explained with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is atop plan view of my prerfaoricated drain board strip;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a cross section of tthe strip taken-on line 3-3 of Fig. L-but-drawn on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a furtherenlarged fragmentary portion of the section of Fig. 3 illustrating the laminations in the composite board of which the main portion of theidrain boardstrip is made;

Fig, 5 is a perspective .viewofa portion of the complete drain board made, and. installed in -.accordance with myinvention; and

Fig. 6 is a. sectional view ,on line .6--5.of Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, my .pre-

fabricated drain board strip comprises a laminated pre-formed composite board indicated in general bythe reference character I, having a plurality of equally and suitably spaced transversely-extendingbottom ribs 5 and a rear longitudinally-extending structural member 6.

The body of .the composite board is preferably, though .not necessarily, formed of plywood laminations '2 (Fig. 4) with the grain of the various laminations arranged at right angles respectively, the plies being held together by suitable watereproof .glue. The entire top and bottom surfaces of thebody or core are covered with a facing of water-proof material suitable for drain board surfacing and capable of being pressed into the desired shape together with the core. Thesetop and bottom facings 3 and 4 may, for example, consist of plastic surfacing materials whichare well known on the market and are at the present time being used extensively for the surfacing of drain boards, restaurant counters, etc., or other suitable formaldehyde vresin products in moldable sheet form maybe employed for .the top and ,bottom facings. The entire board is preferably pressed into .thedesired shape in a single.pressingoperation, being held in the press until the material and laminating glue have become firmly set, or, if preferred, the coreportioncan'firstbe pro-formed and the top and bottom facings applied to the core by similar pressure until the-core and facings become a strong pro-formed composite unit.

The final shape'into whichthe composite board, with its top and bottom water-proof surfacing, is formed, is shown in Fig. 3. Thus the front longitudinal edge I is turned downwardly so as to terminate in a substantially vertical downward overhang or front wall. The intervening portion betweenthisfront wall and the main top section is curved and rounded convexly on the top or outside so asto avoid any sharp or abrupt ridge or edge along the top of the drain board. The longitudinal rear edge of the composite board i is turned concavely on the top or outside and extended upwardly for a substantial distance pref erably sloping slightly forwardly as shown at 8 in Fig. 3 andthen is given a second turn convexly on thetop or outside so as to terminate in a substantiallyhorizontal rearwardly-extending ledge section '9, the intervening portion between the main top section and the upwardlyeextending rear Wall section :18 being. curved, and the intervening portion .between the rear wall section 3 and the ,top rear ledge 9 beingsimilarly, though 'oppositely,,curved androunded. Thus all corners 3 or abrupt edges in the entire surface extent of the composite drain board I are avoided, the reason for this being obvious.

In the pre-forming of the composite board I the angularity of the downwardly-extending front wall I with respect to the main top or central section of the composite board, and likewise the angularity of the upwardly-extending rear wall section B with respect to the main central section is made such that the main top or central section of the composite board in the pre-fabricated drain board strip will have a slight slope from the horizontal, thus sloping slightly downwardly from front to back. This top slope will be observed in Fig. 3, the broken line a: in Fig. 3 indicating the true horizontal line and thus showing the actual rearward slope of the top main portion. This sloping of the main top surface in the finished drain board is an additional feature of my improved drain board, and, as evident, when my drain board is installed, water or other liquid spilled on the drain board will drain towards the rear first instead of running off of the front of the drain board and on to the floor.

The spaced ribs 5, which may be made either from solid strips of wood or from laminated strips as shown in the drawings, are made to conform to the shape and slope of the main top section and of the front wall section of the composite board I and thus, as apparent from Fig. 3 these transversely-extending ribs 5 are formed with a constant taper and are thicker through from top to bottom at the front than at the rear. The ribs 5 are secured in place on the underside of the composite board by suitable screws Ill. The ribs 5 are also made with a recess 28 on the under side at the front ends, the top wall of the recess extending in substantially the same horizontal longitudinal plane as the bottom edge of the front wall portion 1.

The final member of my pre-fabricated drain board strip consists of the rear, longitudinallyextending structural member 6 disposed vertically on one side edge and which also may be made either from a solid wooden strip or from a laminated strip as shown in the drawings and which is secured to the rear wall portion 8 of the composite board and to the rear ends of the ribs 5 by suitable screws I I. It will be noted from Fig. 3 that the rear edge of the top ledge section 9 extends a substantial distance beyond the rear face of the longitudinal structural member 6, the reason for which will be apparent later.

The pie-fabricated drain board strip, made as described, is easily cut to fit the desired location and then quickly and easily secured in place as a permanent drain board in the manner now to be explained. Since the pre-fabricated drain board strip is readily sawed, the strip is first cut to the proper length from any standard length in which the drain board strip may be manufactured. Then, if necessary, longitudinal sawing along the rear edge of the top ledge section is done. Such longitudinal sawing may be necessary in the event there are variations in the building wall surface against which the finished drain board is to be placed or in the event the pre-fabricated drain board strip is slightly too wide for the counter or other underlying support to which the drain board is to be secured. When such necessary sawing has been completed longitudinal edging strips I2 and I3 are preferably secured along the front and rear longitudinal edges respectively, the edging strip I2 extending over the bottom edge of the front wall section 1 and over the recesses at the front ends of the ribs 5 and the edging strip I 3 extending along the rear edge of the top ledge section 9. These strips I2 and I3 may be of metal or plastic and their purpose is not only to give an ornamental and protective edging along the two longitudinal edges of the drain board strip, thus edging the exposed surface of the drain board, but also to reduce the possibility of any moisture entering into the edges of the composite board I. If desired, of course, a water-proof coating of plastic paint or other water-proof material could be applied along these edges in lieu of the strips, but the use of metal or plastic strips I consider preferable.

With my pre-fabricated drain board strip sawed to the proper size for the desired installation, the permanent securing of the same in place is easily accomplished in a few minutes. Thus when the drain board is to be supported on the top of a counter or cabinet frame, such as the frame It in Figs. 5 and 6, screws I5 are driven through the lower portion of the longitudinal structural member 6 between the ribs 5 and into the building wall, thus causing the top ledge 9 to be held firmly pressed against the wall, then screws I5 are driven through the top transverse structural members I! in the supporting cabinet frame and into the ribs 5 of the drain board strips, thus securing the drain board firmly to the top of the supporting frame. Since it is customary and desirable to have a drain board extend out beyond the front wall of the cabinet or counter on which it is mounted, my prefabricated drain board strip is preferably so positioned that the recesses 20 of the ribs 5 and the bottom edge of the front wall i of the drain board body, or, in other Words, the edging strip I2 will overhang the front wall of the supporting cabinet or counter frame. When so installed, my composite drain board strip is practically sealed against the penetration of moisture, eliminating any slight possibility of warping which might otherwise occur over an extended period of time.

One of the difiiculties which I have found generally with other types of drain boards is that even though drain boards may be made of laminated materials held together with waterproof glue, some warping will occur in the space of time due to the penetration of moisture generally from the underneath face of the drain board. Not only is my composite board itself effectively sealed against such moisture penetration, but the longitudinal structural member 6 and the ribs 5, serving as parts of the prefabricated drain board strip, insure rigidity and strength to the entire drain board itself.

With my drain board strip pie-fabricated in the manner described a permanent and highly satisfactory drain board can be set up with a minimum expenditure of labor and time and also my pre-fabricated drain board strip can be produced and sold at considerably lower cost than the present cost of materials and labor involved in the making of the customary drain board on the job, with a more satisfactory and more permanent finished drain board being assured.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a pro-fabricated drain board comprising a composite board having a core formed by a plurality of laminated layers, said layers secured together by suitable water-proof adhesive, the top and bottom faces of said core covered by a water-proof surfacing, said core and surfacing pre-formed by means of a suitable press so as to have a short, downwardlyextending front wall section, a main top section sloping slightly downwardly from front to rear, an upwardly-extending rear wall section, and a rearwardly-extending ledge section at the top of said rear wall section, spaced, transverselyextending ribs secured to the underside of the main section of said composite board, the height of said ribs being greater at the front than at the rear, whereby when the bottom faces of said ribs are horizontally positioned the main section of said drain board strip will have a desired slight downward slope from front to rear, the front ends of said ribs being slightly recessed on the underside, the top wall of said recesses extending in the same horizontal plane as the bottom edge of said front wall section of said composite board, a rear, longitudinally-extending structural member extending the entire length of said drain board, said member secured to the rear face of said rear wall section of said composite board and extending up to the underside of said ledge section, the lower portion of said member secured to the rear ends of said ribs, said ledge section extending rearwardly beyond the rear face of said member, an edging strip extending along and covering the rear edge of said ledge portion, and a similar edging strip extending along the bottom edge of said front wall section and over said recesses in said ribs.

2. A drain board and splash back comprising a plurality of water-proofed bonded laminated layers pro-formed to provide a short downwardlyextendin front wall section, a drain board section sloping slightly downwardly from front to rear, an upwardly-extending splash section, and a rearwardly-extending ledge section along the top edge of said splash section, relatively spaced transversely-extending and longitudinally-extending reinforcing means secured to the underside of the drain board section, the front ends of said transversely extending reinforcing means being recessed on the underside, an edging strip extending along the bottom edge of said front wall section and extending into the recesses in the underside of the reinforcing means to secure the front Wall section to said reinforcin means, and a protecting edging strip extending along the rear edge of said ledge section and extending beyond the longitudinally-extending reinforcing means.

3. A drain board and splash back comprising a plurality of water-proofed bonded laminated layers of wood pre-formed to provide a downwardly-extending front wall section, a drain board section, an upwardly-extending splash section and a rearwardly-extending ledge section along the top edge of said splash section, transversely-extending reinforcing means secured to the undersurface of said drain section, the front ends of said reinforcing means being recessed on the underside, an edging strip extending along the bottom edge of said front wall section and into the recesses in the underside of the reinforcing means to secure the front wall section to said reinforcing means, and a protecting edge strip extending along the rear edge of said ledge section and extending outwardly of said reinforcing means.

4. A drain board and splash back formed from a plurality of water-proofed laminated layers to provide a downwardly-extending front wall section, a drain board section, an upwardly-extending splash section and a rearwardly-extending ledge section along the top edge of said splash section transversely-extending reinforcing means secured to the undersurface of said drain section, the front ends of said reinforcing means being recessed on the undersurface, an edging strip extending along the bottom edge of said front wall section and into the recesses in the underside of the reinforcing means to secure the front wall section to said reinforcing means, a longitudinally-extending reinforcing means secured to the underside of said splash section and a protective edging strip on the rear edge of said ledge section extending beyond said longitudinally-extending reinforcing means.

I-IUBERT C. MORRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,434,420 Zimmerman et al. Nov. 7, 1922 2,001,423 Horner May 14, 1935 2,038,638 Brey Apr. 28, 1936 2,106,443 Thomas Jan. 25, 1938 2,149,882 Clements Mar. 7, 1939 2,158,467 Madsen May 16, 1939 2,198,696 Drain Apr. 30, 1940 2,253,219 Alexander Aug. 19, 1941 2,256,272 Batcheller Sept. 16, 1941 2,269,331 Arbron Jan. 6, 1942 2,293,184 Weissert Aug. 18, 1942 2,298,578 Madsen Oct, 13, 1942 2,327,743 Rosenberg Aug. 24, 1943 2,439,027 Stanitz Apr. 6, 1948 2,539,463 Norquist Jan. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,328 Australia Feb. 13, 1935 of 1935 

